Zoe Louise | 9 Months

I am so over these pictures mom.  And these stickers?  Way more fun to take off than leave on.

NINE months!!!  NINE!  I'm already starting to think about your birthday party and that's just crazy to me.  I have no idea how I suddenly have an almost one year old.


Stats: 21 lbs. 6 oz (90th percentile), head 17.99 still in the 90th and height 2 ft. 4 in. in the 60th.

Likes: You are definitely a water baby as long as it's not too cold.  Miss Bear and Lambie.  Standing while playing.  Being outside either playing or on a walk.  Taking a big girl bath with your toys.  

Dislikes:  Getting ready for bed.  Having your nose wiped.  Getting dressed.  Being put in your car seat.  You basically always want to be mobile and are mad when you are being restrained.  I have no idea how I haven't gotten poop everywhere while trying to change you.  You are insanely squirmy!

Biggest Achievement This Month:  Napping at home for long periods of time.  FINALLY!  Your naps at daycare still are terrible, but at least you do well when you are home I guess.

Biggest Challenge of the Month: Sleeping at day care.  Another mom in our parenting group is fearful that the people at daycare just don't put you girls down because it seems like you aren't tired even though you are.  I think it's just you don't want to nap at daycare.  Considering it happened at your other place, I know it's probably just too much going on for you.

Secret Tricks: Laying you down on your belly with a few pats. Walks in your stroller.

Sleep: You still take your last bottle at 7:30pm and are down by 8pm at the latest. You are then down for the night until about 6:30am.  Your naps at daycare are about 40 minutes in length.  At home, you nap much better and they last almost 2 hours now.  You only have a third nap if your naps at daycare were horrible.  

Temperament/Personality:  Minus our camping episode, this has overall been a really good month for you.  You are so much fun!  I feel like I say that every month, but every month your personality just shines through more and more.  You are now talking even more and it sounds like you are trying to say "OH!" Or "Uh, oh!"  But it's pretty cute to wake up hearing you.  The way it comes out, it sounds like you were storing it up for hours and then are having a really hard time getting it out.  

Suddenly your crib is a playpen and it's so hard sometimes to get you to go down.  You like to stand and look over the rail, stick your arms out and TRY SO HARD to reach something near your crib.  Thankfully, you eventually lay down and fall asleep :)  It's cute watching you on the monitor though.  

I promise you guys will be BFFs soon enough and I won't constantly keep you away from him.

Eating:  Down to 4 bottles. You are taking 6 oz. Right now your schedule is bottle when wake up, solids at 8:30am (breakfast), solids at 11:30 am (lunch), bottle around 1pm, bottle around 4pm, solids at 6ish pm (dinner), bottle before bed.

We are working really hard with finger foods.  Some days are going better than others.  You are getting frustrated with me feeding you, but you can't always pick up the food you like on your own.  Half the food you can pick up, you don't like.  I know we'll get there and figure it out.  I just feel like we have a long way to go in 3 months :)

Right now, you eat banana wedges like a champ.  Your favorite food is your puffs.  Unfortunately, you can't live on those alone girl!  Sweet potato and potato wedges are hit or miss.  Some days you like them and some days you don't.  You're doing better and better with your sippy cup of water.  I know you are getting it in your mouth, but sometimes you have a hard time swallowing it all and it runs down your shirt.  At least it's summer and we don't have to worry about you being cold and wet :)

Things we've tried that you don't like (yet?): pasta, black beans, green beans, watermelon (are we sure you are my child?), blueberries, yogurt, kiwi, cheese.  Every once in a while, we'll try again to see if you've changed your mind.

I'm very fearful that you are going to be a picky eater!  I'm sure we'll get there though.  It wasn't long ago you wouldn't even eat purees and now you pretty much gobble them up.

Randoms: All 12 month clothes pretty much.  You can still fit in your plain 9 month, white onesies.  Your 12 month clothes just fit you.  I hope they last you through the end of summer!  I am not ready to purchase 18 months clothes.  You are getting too big too fast little girl!  You still fit into size 3 diapers (just barely).  We are on our last box and are moving up to size 4 once they are gone.  Size 4 still works at night.  

Milestones:  You crawl so fast now!  We have to watch you like a hawk.  I turn my head for one second and you are in a completely different room.  The gate to the stairs has been installed :)

You are now pulling yourself up 100% of the time.  Sometimes you'll pull yourself up before you fall asleep for your naps and get so worked up, you "can't" get yourself back to laying on your belly so I have to go in and give you a few pats.  Probably a bad habit, but I can't listen to you scream with those real tears falling down your face :(  We've caught you once or twice getting to a standing position without holding on to anything.  So not ready for that yet!

You now have 5 teeth and it looks like number 6 might be on it's way through.  I feel like you are going to have a full set sooner rather than later!

Love you so much Zo Zo!  It's so much fun watching you grow up and you light up every room you are in :)

First Menke Reunion!

Every year, Aaron's mom's side of the family has a reunion at his Grandpa's cottage at Cody Lake in Coral.  Since so many people attend, most camp in tents in the yard.  The festivities start on Friday and go through Sunday.  Everyone enjoys the lake when the weather is nice and there is always an annual washer toss tournament.  I have yet to win and get my name on the suspenders...maybe one year.

This year was Zoe's first year AND cousin Ida's.  Zoe was kind of indifferent to Ida at first.  Then kept looking at her with this weird face like, "who is this little person next to me who's crying?"  THEN she got curious and wanted to continuously poke her.  Thankfully that happened right before we left so that we didn't have to police her all weekend :)  I can't wait to see Zoe and Ida during the holidays when Ida's a little more mobile and they can start playing together!

Ok guys, who is this little person crying next to me?

The boys were so cute with Zoe.  They were hugging her and stroking her cheeks.  It was adorable.

Nana with her grand babies.

Zoe had so much fun playing with Nana all weekend.

Great Grandpa with all of his great grandkids.  So special to have these memories.

We dusted off my family's old standby.  Just the three of us slept in it, but we needed
something the pack n' play would fit it.  At least now we know we all
fit if we ever go camping without my parents and their camper!

Zoe woke up at her usual time on Sunday and daddy wanted to catch a few extra minutes of sleep.  She
actually fell asleep again.  So cute :)  Aaron was not happy with the flash though...

Baptism and Family Time

Our child could very well be the oldest baby every baptized...Not really, but she definitely was old :)  We wanted to make sure that my sister and her fiance could be in town and after Christmas, they weren't coming back until the summer.  And I did not have myself together at Christmas to even be able to think about planning anything.

So July it was.  Jodi, Mark, AND uncle Andrew all made it in town.  We hadn't all been in the same place since Christmas so I was really looking forward to spending time with everyone.

Nana and Grandpa Taylor were kind enough to host the lunch after mass.  The food was delicious!  And it was so nice to be able to have it in Grand Rapids so that extended family were closer and could come.  Thank you Nana and Grandpa!  

The guest of honor took a 2.5 hour nap so she missed almost the entire party.  But I guess this girl was tired!  

We also later realized her baptismal candle completely melted in the car.  It was such a hot day!

Staying up way too late but so worth it!

Uncle Andrew!

Aunt Jodi!  It's past Zoe's bedtime hence the tired look.

Playing with cousin Jayda.  I wish we lived closer so we
could have play dates!

Aaron's face is priceless when we realized the gown wouldn't fit over her head.  I guess
that's what happens when you are 9 months old AND your head is in the 90th percentile.

Thank you Aunt Becky for making the cake!

Zoe's First Visit Up North

We are alive over here!  Summers are just so busy for us.  And July has been crazy.  This is the first weekend we've been home all month.

It's no secret I love up north Michigan.  It's absolutely gorgeous.  I don't know how you can't love it - especially in the summer when it's warm and sunny and the beaches are beautiful.

Every year (almost), my family goes camping up north.  When we were little, we'd go to different campgrounds, but at some point we got stock on Traverse City and we've been going there for a LONG time now.  We weren't able to go last year because of my brother's wedding (it was worth it!), but this year we were able to fit in a few days around the 4th of July.  And Miss Zoe got experience her first trip up north AND her first time camping.

She did awesome for the most part.  The last day/night were rough.  She was hot, tired, whiny, and cutting a tooth so it was just a mess.  Not much sleep was had.  But thankfully it was the last day/night and the rest of the time was perfect.  

She even got to sleep on Uncle Andrew's table bed.  She was one lucky girl to have that whole thing to herself!

She LOVED the beach.  She could have
stayed there the whole time.

She even took a 45 minute while Grandpa held
the umbrella for us so it wouldn't blow away.

Beeba helped us take a bath in the same "tub"
the three of us used as kids with original stickers
on the side and all.  She BARELY fit.

Aaron claims this was the cause for his
horrible game.  I won by the way.

She loved the campfire!  I can't wait for when she can
actually stay up a little longer to enjoy it.

Mommy even snuck her some frozen yogurt.  It was like crack.

And her 4th of July outfit.  Nana got her and Ida matching onesies and I found
this headband on Very Jane along with some super cute bloomers that she
has on that you can't see.

Zoe Louise | Eight Months

Maybe you'll start smiling again in your 9 month photo :)

How are you eight months old already!!?  Time is just flying by way to fast for mommy.

Stats: Not sure. We don't go again until your 9 month well visit.

Likes: Eating. White noise CD. Bath time. Momma Sofie.  Miss Bear and Lambie. You also love your hands. Still anything you can get your hands on. You are still very, very grabby this month. Sleeping on your tummy. Walks in your stroller. You LOVE when people jump at you.  Your pool!

Dislikes:  Getting ready for bed.  Having your nose wiped.  Getting dressed.

Biggest Achievement This Month:  Dropping a bottle and eating more solids.

Biggest Challenge of the Month: Sleeping at day care.  Will this ever change? 

Secret Tricks: Laying you down on your belly with a few pats. Picking you up and standing always seems to solve crankiness. You also love walks in your stroller.

Sleep: You still take your last bottle at 7:30pm and are down by 8pm at the latest. You are then down for the night until about 7am.  Some days you wake up a little earlier at 6:30 am and some days on the weekends you sleep until 7:30 am.  Your naps at daycare are about 40 minutes in length.  At home, you nap much better and they last at least an hour.  You've started to drop your third nap pretty much 100%.  You haven't napped on the drive home from daycare in a while.  On the weekends, we can still sometimes get you to go down depending on how your other 2 naps were.  But they say the third nap goes away at 6-9 months so we are pretty much there.  This will greatly free up our weekend evenings!!

Temperament/Personality:  Your temperament this month is hit or miss.  Some days you are super happy all day.  Then the next you are super crabby all day.  Or you are really happy until it's time to eat, then you get fussy half way through eating and are fine once we hold you.  A "wonder week" is coming up though for you, so I'm guessing that might be part of what's been happening these past few days.  You also have two, new teeth getting ready to pop through (your other bottom tooth and one of your top teeth).  But man can you be a drama queen :)  I saw that with the utmost love!  You now hate being put in your car seat, your booster, the stroller, the bike trailer, etc.  So completely straighten your body, lock yourself in position, and will NOT bend your legs.  I feel like I'm killing you just to get you into the proper position.  You are perfectly fine once you are in, but those few seconds seem like hours trying to get you in.

This totally captures 8 months for Zoe.  She NEVER sits still!!!

Our little drama queen!! :)

Even with your fussy moments, you still crack us up.  You've started to throw your head back when you want to play and be tipped upside down.  You grab onto Miss Bear and Lambie as if your life depends on them (it's so cute to see you show love to them even if they are just stuffed toys). 

Eating:  Down to 4 bottles. You're now taking about 6 oz for each of your bottles.  Depending on how well you do with solids at dinner, I sometimes give you 8 oz. before bed.  Right now your schedule is bottle when wake up, solids at 8am (breakfast), solids at 11 am (lunch), bottle around noon or 1pm, bottle around 4pm, solids at 6ish pm (dinner), bottle before bed.

Fruit is still your go to.  I've started mixing some of your veggies (the green ones) with some fruit which has helped you eat them a little more. 

We started giving you finger foods here and there.  I gave you avocado to start with.  I should have recorded that one.  Your face was beet red and you looked like you were going to spew everything you had previously eaten.  I think it was the texture of having something other than puree in your mouth :)  Since then, you'll take a few bites of watermelon and you'll try to eat your puffs.  You're still trying to master your pincer grasp.  You're getting there though!

Randoms: A mix of 6 and 9 month clothes. Mostly all 9 months. You are in size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night. 

I spy Zoe's tongue!! :)

Milestones:  Sitting on your own with no problems.  You can get from sitting to your belly.  You can now crawl as well.  Just one week ago, you could kind of inch forward and now you are full out army crawl.

You can pull yourself up for the most part.  We were just saying how we needed to move your mattress down.  Then I had you in your crib while I was getting your laundry together, and I turned around, and they you were.  Standing!  Stinker :)  We moved your mattress down immediately.

Teeth!  Your first tooth popped through quite a while ago (bottom).  It's not all the way up, but it's deifnintely above the surface.  It looks like your other bottom tooth might make it's appearance soon and your top gums are getting whitish as well.  So far (knock on wood), you aren't too cranky, and it hasn't affected your sleep.

Aaron is out of town for work so no comparison shots.  I really need to put those photos in a program I know how to use rather than photoshop....

Father's Day

I am so terrible at posting anything on time these days.  The excuses are endless, so I'll spare you...Anyways...

We had such a great Father's Day weekend.  Aaron had traveled to Vegas at the beginning of the week and then I went to Chicago at the end of the week so we were all ready for some R&R and time together.  Saturday I ran errands, cleaned and tried to get most of my weekend chores out of the way earlier in the day.  At night, we had friends over for a BBQ (although the weather didn't cooperate and we ate inside).

Sunday, Aaron got to pick what we did.  He played with Zoe while I ran and got his last present.  Then we got Zoe ready to play in her pool.  She LOVED it.  She probably would have stayed in it all day if we would have let her.  And a baby in a cute, little, pink bathing suit?  Cutest.thing.ever.  We threw in a few of her bath toys and she was happy as can be.  We were all having so much fun, we didn't even realize Wally had escaped and was almost to Woodward Ave.  Ugh.  We quickly wrangled him and continued our poolside fun. 

Aaron and I lounged in the back and ate lunch and read while Zoe napped.  Once she finally woke up, we all walked up to the park so she could play on the swings for a bit.  She thought they were so so, but daddy pushing her and jumping at her?  HILARIOUS! :)  Will her giggles ever stop melting my heart?  I doubt it.  We made a quick stop to 7 Eleven on our way home and then it was time to get dinner ready and start the nightly routine. 

As usual, the weekend went way too fast, but it was so nice to have such a relaxing time.  Zoe did so many projects for daddy!  She made him a card, footprints at her old daycare, and a footprint hanging thingy at her new daycare.  Then we did this which I found on Pinterest a long time ago and wanted to make sure I did when we had kids.  I thought it would be neat to update the pictures every year as she gets older. 

Five Years!

I can't believe it's already been FIVE years!  They went by so fast. And to think of all that's happened since. We bought a house, got a dog, had a horrible miscarriage, and now have the cutest and best little baby ever. 

Aaron came home from work early and surprised me with these! My parents are coming tomorrow and are going to watch Zoe so we can have a date night. Here's to another amazing five years :)

Why do I worry?

I have no idea why I worry about this little girl.  She adapts pretty well to any situation we put her in.  I called her new daycare today and Miss Penny just loves her already :)  The stinker only took a 30 minute nap so far, but that's nothing new when she's not at home.  She has even given a few suggestions on helping us introduce more solids and cutting down one bottle which are very welcome considering she's been doing this far longer than me!

(Belated) Six Month Photoshoot

We decided to take advantage of the long, warm weekend and FINALLY take Zoe's 6 month photos.  I pinned a ton of different poses I wanted to try on Pinterest.  And the great thing about us taking them ourselves is that we could do whatever we wanted, and we weren't on the time clock.  

I will say though...it is HARD work and so worth the money to pay a professional, in my opinion :)  Aaron is a Photoshop master so he's been in charge of the editing.  It's time consuming, but thankfully Aaron has been really good about doing a few photos a night so we can finish up.

And a BIG thank you to Nana for the great pictures she took of the three of us.  They turned out great!!! :)

And the perfect end to our photo shoot :)  This was randomly written on the side of the building so we just
had to take a picture next to it.  And as you can see, Zoe's pretty proud of her name being there.